11 July 2007

Cool Hand of a Girl 2: Brunch Boogaloo

I've blogged about my awesome neighborhood cafe Cool Hand of a Girl before, but this place is worth a second look now that they've started serving weekend brunch. Each Saturday and Sunday, the ladies at CHoaG offer three amazing-sounding brunch specials on their blackboard menu: one scramble, one omelette, and one french toast. Last Saturday, these specials were a feta, kalamata olive, and leek scramble, a roasted cremini mushroom omelette, and a vanilla custard-stuffed french toast with maple syrup and raspberries. My two pals and I ordered all three.

Good, homemade food takes time, so we sipped some delicious house iced tea while we waited. Our dishes arrived beautifully plated with some fresh fruit, almost too pretty to eat. I had ordered the scramble, so I dug in to find that the flavour of the soft, perfectly-cooked, and rich-tasting eggs was elevated by a salty kick from the feta and olives. The sauteed leeks added a welcome touch of freshness to the combination. My eggs were sided with some nicely-spiced potatoes and buttered multigrain toast. It was absolutely the best brunch I have had in a long time.

My friends equally enjoyed their dishes, particularly the one who had ordered french toast. The multigrain bread had been stuffed with a layer of rich vanilla, and then coated in egg custard and grilled until crisp on the outside but still moist on the inside. Topped with real maple syrup and raspberries, this decadent treat was truly mindblowing. After one taste, my friend had to hold me back from inhaling his whole plate. I'm still craving it, 5 days later.

I'm thrilled to be able to say that Cool Hand of a Girl is still as fantastic as it was when it first opened over one year ago. In fact, with its recently-added brunch offering, this cafe keeps getting better and better. Though it may not be on the beaten track, it is definitely worth going out of your way for.